Lamentations 3 says:

3- I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.
2- He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light;
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
20- I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
21- Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
22-Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions
never fail.
23- They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24- I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
25- The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

I thought it was a reminder that no matter what situation we are in we can

have hope and trust God in his mercy, trust in his faithfulness.

Knowing that God is faithful, we learn the following the narrative

1. God never stops loving His people, even though they may sin against
him and
2. That He controls the affairs of men to bring about his plan for His
people.

Let me expand.

1. He places his agents in fitting places for doing his work. The Lord has
his men well placed. He has his Esther and his Mordecai ready at
their posts. Ready to serve. Every child of God is located where God
has placed him for some purpose. It is no coincidence. Esther did

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 well, because she acted as an Esther should, and Mordecai did well,
because he acted as a Mordecai should. Serve where God has
placed you.

2. Lord not only arranges his servants, but He restrains his enemies.

a. Remember, in Esther 3:1 Haman on the first month of the year

cast lots for time for the destruction of the Jews. Do you know
which day was selected. The chosen day was the thirteenth of
the twelfth month. There were eleven clear months left before
the Jews would be put to death, and that would give Mordecai
and Esther time to turn things around. That’s no coincidence.
That’s God.

b. Haman selected a mode of destroying the Jews which was for

their preservation. They were to be slain by any of the people
among whom they lived who chose to do so, and their plunder
was to reward their slayers. This mode of destruction created a
loophole for escape! If the decree had enacted that the Jews
should be slain by the soldiers of the Persian empire it must
have been done, and it is not easy to see how they could have
escaped. That’s no coincidence. That’s God.

Let’s not forget that at this junction of the narrative that a decree has been
sent out to destroy the Israelites. A decree that has been orchestrated by
an Amalekite, an old enemy, which wars against you and your God given
promise. God said to blot it out, but they didn’t, they were unwilling to

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destroy it completely. Now they refuse to bow to the Amalekite, but it is in a
powerful position and has orchestrated their destruction.

Despite God’s presence, they are going through a trial; the enemy is raging
and the destruction of their lives is approaching.

When the enemy is raging and the destruction of our lives is approaching
What do we do? I can tell you what we don’t do. We don’t ketch at vaps.
We don’t participate or engage in vapsy or vapslike behaviour. Now for
those who are not familiar with the Trinidadian “ketch a vaps” to suddenly
behave in a strange or un-characteristic manner. Its an impulsive and wild
departure from the norm.

What we do is fast!. We fast. Esther 4:15 says:

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:

16- “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not
eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do.
When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I
perish, I perish.”
17 -So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

3 day fast

Scriptures says they fasted together for 3 days. I would like to believe the
fasting was for 3 things. As an author puts it the fasted inwardly,
outwardly, and forwardly

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Inward: To Express Repentance

The first, most common, and perhaps most fundamental type of fast
expresses repentance. God’s people realize their sin — the deep and
prolonged rebellion — and come seeking his forgiveness. Remember they
were in captivity because they broke their covenant with God and went
after other gods.

Outward: To Grieve Hard Providences

But fasting not only expresses repentance. On many occasions, it gives

voice to mourning, grieving, or lamenting difficult providences. When news
of Haman the Amalekite edict arrives in Esther 4, “there was great mourning
among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in
sackcloth and ashes” Fasting gave voice to the pain and sorrow of sudden

and severe “outward” circumstances and represented a heart of faith

toward God in the midst of great tragedies.

Forward: To Seek God’s Favor and guidance

Finally, we find a kind of “forward” fast, not in response to sin within or grief
without, but more proactive, in a sense, asking for God’s guidance or future
favor. Esther 4:16 says, I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this
is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I
perish, I perish.” Fasting “forward” for God’s favor played a crucial role in
the preservation and return of God’s people from exile. Before approaching
the king to seek his favor, Esther sought God’s favor first, with a fast:

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Strengthened by the fast, Esther entered the inner court, against the law,
the king’s stretch out the golden sceptre, she has gotten favour. Why not
plead for your people now. I know some people would say there is no time
like the present and tomorrow never comes. Their very existence hangs
upon your entreaty, and the king has said, “What do you wish?” you ask for
a banquet with Haman instead? what’s the delay? Was it not the right time
to speak? Fasting for guidance, God has not guided her to plead as yet.
She was led to invite Haman and put off her disclosure. She couldn’t see
why, but she asked for another banquet with Haman after the first.
However, after first banquet, Haman’s wife Zeresh and all his friends said
to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits,[a] and ask
the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the
king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman,
and he had the pole set up. God was working it out. Haman was hanged on
the same pole meant for Mordecai. God answered and, through Esther,
saved his people and Haman the Amalekite was destroyed. That’s the thing
about fasting Godward. God not only saves you, but he destroys that which
he saves you from.

Where did the Amalekites come from? The Amalekites came from Esau,
who was Jacob’s/Israel’s twin brother. When the call comes to blot out
Amalek, it is not a call to destroy an outsider. It is a call to remove
something that was a part of you. A part of you that attacks as soon as you
start to exit Egypt, a part of you that wants to prevent you from having the
promise of God and a part of you that is bent on destroying you.

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Fasting intensifies prayer. When you are hungry you remember why you
are fasting, and you pray. Fasting causes your hunger to serve you, it
causes your hunger to push you to pray and causes it to pull you closer to
God. That being said, please don’t pray that you will not be hungry when
you fast.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion when, we are going through a trial; the enemy is raging, and
the destruction of our lives is approaching, and you can’t see the face of
God:

1. Remember His word, He is faithful

2. God never stops loving His people, even though we may sin against
him
3. He controls the affairs of men to bring about his plan for His people
and
4. Fast during your trials

Stay hungry for God and remember that we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose. It’s no coincidence.

Thank You.

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